Removing God from the BSA

Thursday evening I attended the monthly district round table meeting.  The council advancement chair spoke concerning the new "Duty to God" requirement for all advancement steps in cub scout and in boy scouts.  She mentioned that a recent Eagle Scout Board of Review (BOR), the Eagle candidate was asked the standard question "What did you do to fulfill your Duty to God requirement?  This is an open ended question and any answer may be acceptable.  The scout did not answer and they asked the question again.  His reply was that he did not believe in god.  The board asked him to leave so they could discuss his answer.  The scout left with an adult which they later found out was his lawyer.  About a week later, they requested that the scout return for an additional BOR in two weeks.  His reply was "Forget it, we will see you in court."  

I ask you this.  Who brings a lawyer to a board of review anyway unless there is going to be some legal battle?  So it looks like the BSA has been set up like the bakery business not providing a service to homosexuals.

So we were told that the question to be asked would have to be open ended since scouts allows for various gods depending on the scout's beliefs.  She then opened up for questions....a mistake for her.

So I asked when was this going to court and when was the BSA going to remove all traces of God from their Motto, Pledges, and rank requirements?  She said that would never happen and the BSA would not do something that stupid.  My comment was "Stupid?!?"  National BSA allowed gays, girls and trans-genders into scouting to their detriment.  To date, there are only 1/3 of the units open from 4 years ago.  And that's progressive?

I got some dirty looks from a few adults but many more agreeing head nods from the rest of the adult leaders.  I added that even the liberal churches will not tolerate this next movement and this will only speed up the demise of the scouting movement.  

We just had our district scout executive give notice after being employed by the BSA for 16 years.  So I know something is going on for him to resign.

So I give it 1-2 years until the BSA is RIP.  Sad to see though, but Royal Rangers is still adding to its membership as well as Trail Life USA.  I am not sure about Boys Brigade, Knights, or Royal Ambasidors, but I can not see any of these Christ based groups giving in to this agenda.

So I would expect another mass exodus of youth and men in the near future.

I truly hate to hear this, but we are in the middle of a real battle in this country. I'm glad you spoke up for truth and I hope people listened.

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

After years of getting hit with attacks and lawsuits, didn't the Council think to ask who the "guest" was? Did he sit at the same table or was he in the crowd? I'm thinking the former, since a public setting doesn't seem right for this moment.

As the BSA kept taking hits and giving in, I made prediction after prediction. They all came true, although opening itself up to girls surprised me. In the end, though, it's always "follow the money". There's a lot of BSA people whose paycheck depends on not offending corporations. They set the tone and change the policies. They are the Allied generals of WWI.

Meanwhile, people like you who are in the trenches get sacrificed as you climb the ladder and race through the cultural battlefield. Even worse, the boys are sacrificed at the altar of progressivism. Liberals never see casualties, just opportunities to advance their flag. Never mind that their savage landscape is lifeless. Yeah, I hate the culture my generation allowed to happen.

A person can condemn or compete. I believe that is why the Royal Rangers was formed with Johnnie Barnes at the tip of the spear. The same with Trail Life USA. People chose to do their own thing and not go with the flow.

We all have choices in front of us.

The guest? I have not idea. I asked if it was our council and was told it was not. I guess it does not matter anyway.

BSA - Once a compromise is made, things tend to fall apart afterwards. I always found it easier to make a decision and then stick to it. BSA National should have told the homosexuals to start their own Gay Scouts and have a rainbow patch or flag as their standard. They won the battle back in late 1990's/early 2000's with the Supreme Court ruling.

The first thing in leadership that I was taught my ASM Mel Mackey was that when ever you make a decision, there is always somebody that is not going to like you.

The second thing is not to change a plan for one person and expect everybody to change. That one person will probably not show up anyway.

The third is that it is sometimes better to ask for forgiveness than for permission. If the idea turns out awesome then you are called a "genious".

The fourth is that a stupid idea is still a stupid idea even if the head honcho thinks of it. The only thing that is good about doing what you are told when you know it is a stupid idea to begin with is witnessing the thing be a failure. But why waste money and manpower and just do #3.

Climbing the ladder? I don't climb a ladder heading to destruction. I don't run a race that leads to a cliff. I create my own ladder or look for another one. There are other races out there to run and have a better prize at the finish line. John Maxwell states that in the "Law of the Lid". Stronger leaders do not follow weak ones. Leaders lead the way.

Sacrificed? No not really. Most of the adult leaders are OK and tend to focus on the boys in their troops. Troops for the most part are financially self sufficient by BSA fund raising guidelines. There are other youth groups out there to minister with. HEY! Royal Rangers and Trail Life USA to name a few!

I irritated some other people at the meeting. I asked why the district is charging $20-30 for a week-end event? I added that I ran a camp out just over a year ago and the registration was only $9 per person. Most of that was for patches and cracker barrel goodies. Of course they would not answer my question, because everybody knows that the council is running a $100K deficit. I said that within the year, scout troops are going to get together on their own and have their own camp outs for no cost at all to anybody. Troops can camp where even and when ever as long as the Troop committee approves it. If they want to have a patch, then they can order it by themselves with a credit card. It is the scoutmasters that run and operate the events anyways. Why do need to run an event under a council banner anyway? FB is just as good to advertise events and the council website is seldom updated.

But it is sad where things have gone and are heading. The Bible is clear that in the last days, people will not put up with sound doctrine. So why be surprised? "As for me and my house, we will worship the Lord." Sounds like a choice is before us.

Stay Thirsty for the Lord my friends.

Roguedawg wrote:  I asked why the district is charging $20-30 for a week-end event?  I added that I ran a camp out just over a year ago and the registration was only $9 per person.  Most of that was for patches and cracker barrel goodies.  Of course they would not answer my question, because everybody knows that the council is running a $100K deficit.  I said that within the year, scout troops are going to get together on their own and have their own camp outs for no cost at all to anybody.

We have seen similar in Rangers. Under previous Administrations. it appeared that Materials, Uniforms, Patches, etc. were being changed, just so that you had to purchase the "New & Improved" version (which was found to be, often, not-so-much improved).

I think that a lot of us have gone to "Decentralized Training". With all respect to Rangers, Boy Scouts, Pioneers for Christ, etc, Headquarters needs the grunts more than the grunts need them. Boys groups can always find an Administration, but without the Boys, the Administrations will perish.

Two days ago, I attended a State Leaders' Conference in Birmingham. One of the Modules that I went to was about Church Boys' Programs. They talked about Scouts, Rangers, Royal Ambassadors, Pioneers for Christ, Awanas, & more. The underlying theme of the Module was that you can pick any Hierarchy that you please. Just have a Boys' Program and run it right!

Enter in "Rangers Lite". 70% of AG churches do not have Royal Rangers. Many reasons. Most of them due to much overhead in people, time, money and commitment.

So check out this page and see how were changing that. The video link .
http://readyrangers.tzo.com/2018LEAD/2018Lead.htm

We are slowly moving back to the Johnnie Barnes methods. I am for these changes. It needs more tweaking. Lite versions bypass GMA and FCF. So we as a District will need to fix the FCF thing right away. Go back to doing the 8 merits that the DR needed to do for the lite version.

I do like the reasoning of these two changes in this video. Patrol system in Ranger kids was a pipe dream. Never ever ever saw it work there. So they followed the Cub Scouts... Not Den mothers but Den Dads.

Main thing is if your a small outpost consisting of 7 in your outpost you can still do Rangers. It will be a lite version but it's still Royal Rangers. Work on the fun stuff of Rangers and forget the dead stuff that didn't work. Don't have to complete merit requirements..but you can do the fun parts of them. Reminds me of the good ole days in Rangers. We are coming around full circle. Back to the things that work.

Mark Jones

Mark Jones wrote: Enter in "Rangers Lite".  70% of AG churches do not have Royal Rangers.  Many reasons.  Most of  them due to much overhead in people, time, money and commitment.  So check out this page and see how were changing that.  The video link. http://readyrangers.tzo.com/2018LEAD/2018Lead.htm

Video link didn't work for me, but I'll take your word for it. Hopefully, this time the changes will work. We lost a lot of ground the last decade, with national flailing away and looking busy, without having any positive effect. In the past, they ignored what the boots on the ground were saying. Something tells me at least of few of the bigwigs finally listened.

On that video there is a play button in the middle of the screen it's kind of hard to see. Try it again it works

I do believe your right Bigwigs are listening. Doug Clay was a Royal Ranger and supports RR 100%. He is a great preacher.
Mark Jones

Another school shooting. We could re-title this thread as "Removing God from the USA".

Nothing but the same old tired rhetoric from left and right. If there was an honest discussion geared towards finding a REAL solution...but they won't allow that.

Well the public schools system (and courts) decided to expel God and his teachings from their establishments. That goes along with "Thou shall not Kill". So in essence, they were saying it was OK to kill others.

Evil has been with us since day one. This type of thing has been going on since day one. We hear about it now instantly. Yet it's been going on for ever. History records these things going back as far as man has been on this planet.

Is it getting worse? Bible says it will get worse. We need to be READY and have as many as we can get READY ready! Conversion to Christ is the answer for these deceived folk. Devil just laughs and laughs when these people take innocent lives that are not READY!

With God's help we can Reach them, Teach them and keep them.

Stretch folk, Stretch. This life we live is not our own. It's not all there is. So let's get er done!

Mark Jones a thankful sinner saved only by the Grace of God.

I am not a Psychologist, but I am OLD, so that gives me some experience.

This is not to be a Fuddy-Duddy, blaming things on the New Generation, but....

I believe that it would be very easy to draw a direct correlation between Mass Shootings by Youth and these "First Person Role Player Video Games". Fifteen years ago, my sons had these computer games, in which they were shooting, stabbing, and bludgeoning villains and monsters. In these newer games, YOU can become the villain or monster and kill others. For doing these acts, you are rewarded with additional "points" or "power", and so it makes you look forward to your next engagement with a potential victim. Additionally, there are games that young people can participate On-Line and actually shoot Each Other, terminating them from the game.

The problem is this....

Young people (especially boys and young men) have not developed good discretion. They do things that are inappropriate. I think that we can all remember social things that we did when we were young, and we are actually embarrassed to recall that we did such a thing.

These kids (speaking of those who have Reality or Anger or Mental or Chemical Imbalance Issues) can become desensitized to the violence and its effect on others becomes unreal - because you can shoot someone, and everything is OK when you just reboot the scenario. It also gives them a sense of Power and Importance and an Adrenaline Rush when they commit these acts On-Line (kind-of like winning at Bingo or a Slot Machine). I have a nephew in Special-Ed. His father took the "easy" route of allowing him to be babysat with video games. While I was taking him to church, this kid was telling me about all of the cops that he shot, while playing "Grand Theft Auto".

The courts have said that we/society cannot put limitations on these games. We can watch over our own kids, but there are way too many kids who are unmanaged like my nephew, above. They are out there, they are being programmed to get mental stimulation from violent acts, and they have access to the tools to carry those acts out in real life.

What can we do about it?

We can treat the symptoms. Limit the exposure. Limit the access to various things. Yet the real problem is they are not saved. devil knows who Christ is.

The problem is sin. The solution is salvation. The rest of it is what comes from either one of those.

Our nation will go as the churches have gone. It's all going to happen. I just have control over my life and that is about it. The rest of it is pointing a bunch of fingers blaming someone else. Each one needs to take ownership of themselves and bring as many to Christ as we can. Any other efforts are pretty much a frustration.

Can we dictate Salvation? Nope. Can each one of us point others to Christ. Yes one by one.

Mark Jones

Sad to see what is happening to BSA.

Unfortunately, that is what happens when weak leaders get in charge of an organization & decide to try curry favor with "the world" & be more "inclusive"
It ends with becoming part of that world.